LIZ KRUEGER

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will resign in disgrace this week.

A recreational marijuana smoker indulges in smoking weed on April 14, 2020 in the Bushwick section of the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday morning signed legislation passed by state lawmakers the night before to legalize recreational marijuana in New York state. That makes the Empire State the 15th state, along with the District of Columbia, to have legalized cannabis for recreational use. The agency will be in charge of regulating the recreational cannabis market and the existing medical cannabis programs. All research submitted shows it will be harmful to children, makes the roads less safe," New York State PTA Executive Director Kyle Belokopitsky said, ABC 7 New York reported.

New York has failed in recent years to pass marijuana legalization, but a state senator said lawmakers have reached an agreement to legalize marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21. The agreement reached Saturday would expand the state's existing medical marijuana program and set up a a licensing and taxation system for recreational sales. It has taken years for the state's lawmakers to come to a consensus on how to legalize recreational marijuana in New York. Some other states that have legalized recreational marijuana have struggled to address the inequities that the drug wars have wrought. AdCalifornia voters legalized recreational marijuana sales in 2016 as well and invited people to petition to have old marijuana convictions expunged or reduced.

Cuomo subjected her to an unwanted kiss during years of sexual harassment have spurred calls for an investigation and questions about who might meaningfully conduct one. Andrew Cuomo subjected her to an unwanted kiss during years of sexual harassment have spurred calls for an investigation — and questions about who might meaningfully conduct one. The agency has tackled sexual harassment claims in the past, finding that former Democratic Assembly Member Vito Lopez made unwanted sexual advances on female staffers. Mario Cuomo — the current governor's father — said a JCOPE investigation into Boylan's allegations “would just be total farce, in terms of credibility." AdThe attorney general's Civil Rights Bureau sometimes looks into sexual harassment complaints itself if it sees evidence of "a pattern, practice or policy of sexual harassment affecting a significant number of people.” Boylan accused Cuomo of “pervasive harassment” of female staffers.

The Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act, introduced by Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, with input from survivors and their advocates, would decriminalize prostitution in New York while holding pimps, sex traffickers and buyers accountable. New York would be the first U.S. state to pass "Equality Model" legislation that protects survivors of sex trafficking. Not full decriminalizationThe Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act contrasts with other legislation that would completely decriminalize prostitution. Backers of so-called equality model bills like Krueger's say the latter bill protects exploiters and allows the sex trade to flourish. Meanwhile, critics of equality model legislation argue that it would push the industry further underground and expose people in prostitution to more violence.